The Convergence
by TTGL Machine
Summary: The countdown has begun. A demon has begun a process that will force five universes to merge, endangering all life. As both Heroes and Villains alike are faced with unsettling revelations, four Magical Girls and a young Huntress must band together to save humanity...A RWBY/Madoka Magica/Lyrical Nanoha/Symphogear/Yuki Yuna mega crossover.
1. Chapter 1: Countdown

_So you may prepare your guardians, build your monuments to a so-called "free world", but take heed... there will be no victory in strength._

* * *

Professor. Huntsmen. Headmaster of Beacon Academy. Those were the three titles that the man named Ozpin was commonly known by in the world of Remnant. While a select few people were aware of what he considered his true profession to be, as the hidden guardian of his world, none other than him knew of the duty he had beyond that.

He sat at his desk, staring intensely at his scroll, checking for any messages related to the crisis that was at hand. He was yet again greeted with none. He paced around his office, mentally cursing his inability to do anything at the moment to help with the current situation. Being the headmaster of one of the four huntsmen academies in the world, suddenly leaving for a trip to the northern continent wasn't something he could really justify with any good excuse. Especially not with a new school year on the horizon anyway. Having suffered through tragedy after tragedy throughout his life, Ozpin was used to this feeling of helplessness, and knew that he couldn't let himself do anything rash. But after receiving the latest message from his colleague, a calm state of mind certainly wasn't a mindset that he could possibly feel at the moment. He sat down once again, staring at the message he had received hours ago.

 _Oz. Autumn was attacked. She's barely hanging on. I took her to James, but it's not looking good. I'm on my way to meet up with you now. ~ Qrow._

His eyebrows furrowed as that dreadful message lingered in his mind. For one of the maidens of the four seasons to be in critical condition from an attack could only mean one thing. If she could not be saved, an incredible source of power would soon end up in the wrong hands, and the world of Remnant's fragile peace could once again shatter. He stared outside, gazing at the school being basked in the moon's light. What should have been a calming sight only made anxiety continue to creep up on him, as the possibilities of how wrong things could go ran through his mind.

"Oz!" The door suddenly slammed open, causing the headmaster to turn around quickly, relieved that his trusted friend had finally arrived.

"Qrow! What happened? How's the Fall Maiden?" He demanded.

"James and his crew are keeping her stable in Atlas but…" Qrow paused, not sure how else to word his terrible news. "...It's only gonna delay the inevitable." Ozpin let out a sigh as fears were confirmed. Not wanting to waste any time, he quickly steeled himself to prepare for the task at hand.

"How many were there?" He asked.

"Three. Got a good look at them. At the very least we know who they are. But…" Qrow trailed off.

"But what?" Ozpin asked.

"Her powers. She wasn't just attacked, Oz. Part of her powers were _stolen_." Ozpin's eyes widened at that. That shouldn't have been possible. _None_ of what Qrow was telling him should have been possible. The more Qrow spoke, the more his fears were being confirmed. A maiden falling to three assailants and having her powers stolen wasn't something that could have occured due to ordinary lowly criminals. No, this attack must have been planned for a while.

Which meant... _she_ had made her move, and there was little time for him to respond.

"Qrow. Tell James to have her moved here." Ozpin replied. "Until we can figure things out, the safest place she'll be is in the-"

Before Qrow could offer any sort of response to Ozpin's plans, both of their thoughts were interrupted by the loudest crack of thunder and the brightest flash of lightning they've heard and seen in their lives. Then the ground shook more ferociously than it ever had before. Then it suddenly stopped. The room once again had returned to a state of dead silence, as if nothing had happened.

"What the…" Qrow looked around outside, the damage from the split-second quake thankfully being minimal. "What just…Oz?" He looked back to find Ozpin looking at his scroll, a look of dread plastered all over his face before he grabbed his staff and ran towards the door. "Oz, wait!" Qrow yelled as he ran after him, the headmaster not saying a word as he ran.

Ozpin dashed to the elevator and pushed the button calling for the lowest floor, not giving Qrow time for him to hop inside. He prayed to whatever god that was listening that what he feared was happening wasn't the case. A minute later Ozpin found himself inside the Vault. The lowest level of Beacon Academy. He ran down the dimly lit hallway until he reached a dead end. He searched the floor and found a small circular indent in it. He plunged his staff into the indent, causing the wall in front of him to light up, opening up the secret passageway that led to his destination. He ran down it for what felt like miles until a massive red door stood before him.

Ozpin put his hand on the door. While he couldn't unlock it without the power of the Fall Maiden, what he could do was use what little magic that was left inside of him to at least be able to look inside. He focused all his power on the door, before it slowly became more and more transparent, allowing the beautiful crown within it to be shown before his eyes, and the longer he stared at the it, the more worse he realized the situation was becoming. Of course, he thought. It was foolish to pray.

For the gods had abandoned Remnant so very long ago.

The Relic of Choice, one of the four artifacts that represented the fundamentals that humanity was founded upon. It was a crown that was adorned with jewels that normally glowed vibrant pink lights.. But now, those pink lights were flickering. They were turning black, then back to pink, then black, then pink again. Black. Pink. Black. Pink.

Black.

The pink fizzled and faded, and darkness was all that remained in the jewels. Ozpin was so transfixed by the transforming crown that he didn't even hear the footsteps behind him.

"Oz!" Qrow cried out. "What the hell just happened?"

"...Qrow." Ozpin muttered quietly as he turned to him. "You mentioned your niece had silver eyes, correct?"

"Yeah? What about it?" Qrow asked, still waiting for a proper answer.

"Does she still wish to enroll at Beacon?" Ozpin asked, his stoic tone not changing.

"More than anything. Kid's talented, but she'll need at least two years before she's even close to ready for this place, if I had to guess."

"Then make sure you train her well. Have her be ready in half that time." Ozpin replied as he turned back to the now dark glowing crown. "Because as of now, the countdown has begun."

* * *

Hell.

That was the only appropriate description that Sayaka Miki could use to describe her current predicament. Alone she stood, trapped with unbreakable chains clad on her legs and wrists behind her back. She couldn't even speak, for a mask had covered the entire bottom half of her face. In front of her was a room that had an atmosphere of infinite emptiness. Empty chairs littered the room, one of them being the throne that... _demon_ often sat upon when she made her presence here. In the distance in front of her stood the walking dolls whom that demon commanded, who continued to point and laugh at her from afar.

How long had it been? She thought. How long since she had almost freed her best friend from the clutches of that traitor? How long since she had been trapped in this position? Days? Months? Years? She couldn't tell. Thanks to _her_ , nothing about the world she lived in made sense anymore. But she couldn't give up. Not with what she had now. Not with the last bit of hope her friend had told her to cling on to before she once again fell into the demon's clutches. Somehow, eventually, she would find a way out of here.

Sayaka immediately silenced her thoughts as soon as she felt the demon's presence in the room again. No matter what, she couldn't let her find out about the last trump card that Madoka Kaname had given her. She felt the air tightening as another void of darkness opened up in front of her, upon which her nemesis walked out.

Homura Akemi. Sayaka glared at the transfer student responsible for this mess. That terrible smile that clashed with her cold, dead eyes sent shivers down Sayaka's spine. She only made that smile when she knew she had the upper hand, in the very few times Sayaka saw her like that. Sayaka knew something else was wrong when she realized that the portal behind her wasn't closing, and the air around her grew even tighter. Then her glaring eyes widened in fear.

Out from the portal, a tall woman followed Homura. Sayaka was horrified, she hadn't seen anyone like her before. Her skin was as white as snow. Her hair was as white as her skin, and was braided into six small ponytails on the side, making the back of her head look like a six-legged spider. Her eyes were blood red, with what appeared to be veins seeping out of them on the side of her face. Laid over her body was a dark robe with red designs that resembled eyes plastered all over it. Her clothing gave off a wave of elegance to her movements that dissipated once Sayaka made eye-contact with her. She had a piercing gaze that Sayaka felt might have killed her If looks had that power.

"So…" She spoke, her voice soft and calm, contrasting with that of her demonic appearance. "This is your domain." The woman's head turned to look at her surroundings. "Hollow. Empty. Bitter. No different from which I hail from." She added, turning towards the other demon in the room.

"I wouldn't describe it as such." Homura replied, turning to face her. "After all, I made this world for the happiness of the one I love. It's only those who choose to reject that happiness that see it that way." She gazed at Sayaka as she said those words, causing her to clench her fists in disgust as Homura looked back at the woman. "But let's get down to business. I've assigned each of your followers a job for them to do, and to ensure they don't fail, I'll be actively supporting them on each of their missions." Her smile widened. "Actually no...it would be better to say that they will be supporting me. However, know this." Homura's tone darkened. "Gathering these embodiments will create powerful enemies for you and your world."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." The woman smiled in return.

" _She...She knows I can hear them right?"_ Sayaka watched the scene with dread in her eyes. Who was this woman and what were they talking about? Why was Homura of all people talking about whatever messed up plans she had right in front of her?

"I couldn't believe it when I saw them for myself." Homura continued, taking her large Soul Gem out and gazing into it. "Every one of them...these heroes...they all embodied the same ideals that she did, and they have the strength to prevail alongside it. They all have that hope...that kindness...that faith in the best of humanity, and they never waver from that path."

"And that faith in humanity is not misplaced." The woman replied. "It's true that the ability to derive strength from hope is humanity's greatest attribute. When banded together, unified against a common enemy, they can stand against anything, and are a notable threat." The smile on her face grew more sinister. "But divide them, place doubt into their minds, and any semblance of power they once had will fade away."

"I know that all too well." Homura nodded in agreement as she gazed towards Sayaka once again. "And to show you my convictions, my will to see this through to the end, I will do what I should have done a long time ago." She reached an open hand towards Sayaka before clenching it into a fist. Suddenly the chains around Sayaka's feet vanished, and she felt herself being pulled downwards, landing on her knees in front of the two demons. Homura walked towards her captive and grabbed her by the chin, making direct eye-contact with her as she removed her mask.

"It's unfortunate that I have to do this to you, Miki Sayaka." She spoke to her, that dry smile never leaving her face. "It's a shame, having you around had provided a net benefit. You always were a source of joy in her life, after all. But where you're going...I will no longer have to worry about you poking your nose where it doesn't belong." Her fingers cradled across Sayaka's cheeks. "Now, you can live out the rest of your days in the same isolation that I was forced to suffer."

"I knew it...I knew all along what kind of monster you were all this time." Sayaka growled back. "Was rewriting the universe and becoming a demon not enough for you, transfer-student?! What the hell are you planning? Who is she?!" Her words fell on deaf ears and her pupils dilated in fear, as Homura Akemi pulled her fingers back, and responded with a simple clap of her hands.

The chains that had bound Sayaka's wrists had vanished. But before she had a chance to react, she felt a breeze...no...a wind coming from behind her. She turned around. The wall of the room behind her was no more. An endless dark abyss of a void had taken its place. The fear in her eyes turned into horror as she realized what she felt wasn't a wind at all, but rather a vacuum pulling herself towards that void. The world around her began to break apart and fall to pieces, with Homura Akemi giving her the same emotionless look she hated so much as she fell to her knees, unable to stand. She grabbed the ledge of the floor she was standing on as the vacuum grew stronger. The fear in her eyes turned into hatred as her grip loosened, and she was sent hurtling towards the void, cursing Homura's name before the demon was once again greeted with silence.

"Farewell, Miki Sayaka. I hope we never meet again." Homura stated, clapping her hands once again, the room returning to how it once was. She turned back towards her visitor, the two of them reaching out their hands and shaking them in agreement. An aura of darkness emanated from the both of them.

"Let's begin...Salem." Homura stated while Sayaka screamed as she felt herself being hurtled throughout the void. It was as if she was reliving all the memories of when she had gone through the painful process of becoming a witch. Every part of her body screamed in pain as she felt herself tumbling in whatever direction she was heading in. Nevertheless she clutched her Soul Gem, shut her eyes, and prayed. She prayed for the miracle her best friend believed in to pull through, and prayed that she would be able to complete the task she was given.

The last thing she remembered was her falling, then hitting something hard. She used the last of her remaining strength to open her eyes and saw a young brown-haired girl she didn't recognize walking towards her, before she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

 _But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten; things that require smaller, more honest souls._

 **A/N: Hello folks. This is a personal project that I've been planning for a long time. I know many of you want to see the ending for Manly Magi Kamina Magica, and I DO plan to end it someday, though it may not be the kind of ending you expect. That aside, I've been wanting to make a mega crossover like this for years, and I have several chapters already written.**

 **I plan to keep a consistent release schedule of one chapter every two weeks. With my schedule as it is now, I have a lot more time for writing, so I believe I can maintain this goal for a while. Should that change, I will let you know.**

 **Now some of you may be thinking that this is a similar idea to BHS' story Shattered Skies. I'd be lying if that fic's presence didn't give me some inspiration, even though I'd only read a few chapters. Nevertheless, I have spoken to him about this idea and he has offered me fantastic advice and encouragement for me to continue, as well as beta-read for me. I'm very grateful for his help and I'm very excited to see this idea finally go off the ground.**

 **Please review, as I'd like as much feedback and criticism as possible.**

 **I hope you enjoy.**

 **150 YEARS, 5 MONTHS, 4 DAYS, 10 HOURS, 8 MINUTES UNTIL THE CONVERGENCE.**

 **NEXT CHAPTER: AWAKENING**


	2. Chapter 2: Awakening

" _I...I never thought about that. If something like that is possible..."_

" _Please, don't concern yourself over it. As I said, the chances of it happening is near zero. I realize that this is something that's...not in your field of expertise, but I felt it'd be best if I made you aware of this while I still had the chance."_

" _I understand. If what you're saying is true, then we need to make sure it never happens! If you really need my help, then I promise, as soon as my friends join me, we'll all think of something together!"_

" _Thank you. It was a pleasure to discuss this with you, Miss Kaname."_

* * *

" _Where…_ "

Sayaka slowly opened her eyes, being greeted with an unfamiliar ceiling. Realizing that she was lying down, she attempted to sit up, causing a wave of pain to shoot through her. Using the little movement she had in her head, she turned it to look at her surroundings. She was sitting in a large bed, in an ordinary looking bedroom. A small desk was to her right, while to her left laid curtains hiding the morning's light. An alarm clock was also to her left, displaying the early hours of the day.

"What...happened?" She asked, before the memories came flooding back. She remembered Homura talking with that woman. She remembered being hurtled throughout an endless void. She remembered falling on something before seeing someone walk towards her...and that was it. Feeling some of her strength returning due to her enhanced healing factor, she managed to slowly sit up in the bed. Before she could get out, she saw the door in front of her opening, revealing a tall, blonde woman standing behind it, who gasped in surprise upon seeing her.

"Hayate! She's awake!" She called out as she walked into the room. She was carrying a tray of food and set it down on the bedside desk beside Sayaka. "Are you all right young lady?"

"I'm...fine." Sayaka replied, still confused about the whole situation. "Where am I?"

"You're in Master Hayate's room. She found you injured and unconscious in the middle of an alleyway last night." The woman spoke with a kind tone. It had a gentleness to it that reminded Sayaka of Mami's hospitality. While she kept herself on guard, she felt relieved that whoever brought her here didn't seem to be an enemy, at least. When she mentioned injuries, she looked down at her body and found herself partially covered in bandages. She was about to ask this woman more questions when another girl walked into the room. This one was much shorter than the blonde woman, with short brown hair. "She seems to be all right, Hayate." The blonde woman stated, confusing Sayaka.

" _This girl's the master?_ " Sayaka thought with bewilderment. This girl had to be even younger than she was!

"Thank you so much, Shamal." Hayate replied before looking at Sayaka. "I'm sorry for surprising you like this. I hope you don't mind, but...well...this might sound strange, but I saw you falling out of the sky last night before landing in that alley. You were hurt really badly, are you sure you're all right?" She asked with concern.

"Y-yeah...thanks?" Sayaka replied, while grateful that this girl helped her out, she didn't understand why she couldn't just call an ambulance or something for her. Wait...she mentioned that she saw her fall out of the sky. Had she still been in her magical girl uniform when she was knocked out? She was about to ask whether or not that was the case before she clutched her head in pain, feeling bandages across her head as well. "Ow…"

"Be careful!" Shamal stated. "You really must have hit your head hard. The wound on your head was just horrible! It's a miracle that you were still alive when Hayate brought you here."

"If...that's true…" Sayaka began to ask, still reeling from the pain. "Why didn't you just take me to a hospital? No offense but, why go to all this trouble just for me?" Hayate and Shamal looked at each other for a moment before nodding.

"Well, that's because-" Hayate began before a third voice entered the room.

"Hayate…" A small red-haired girl, who was even shorter than Hayate came inside. Her hair was messy, and she was carrying a small stuffed animal. "When's breakfast…" She yawned.

"Vita, don't disturb her while she and Shamal are tending to the guest's injuries." Another woman entered the room. She was about as tall as Shamal, with long pink hair wrapped in a ponytail. Her voice was firm, yet also soothing.

"But Signum...I'm hungry…" Vita whined. Sayaka couldn't help but smile at the scene in front of her. There was a certain tenderness to the atmosphere in the room that she hadn't felt in a long time. It almost made her forget about the fact that she wasn't supposed to be there.

"I'll be downstairs soon Vita. Signum, go get her some milk." The tall woman nodded before guiding Vita downstairs. Hayate giggled at the two of them before turning back to Sayaka. "To answer your question, well, you're a mage too aren't you miss...oh!" Hayate paused, realizing she had forgotten something very important. "Forgive me, I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Hayate Yagami, and this is Shamal. You already met Signum and Vita. We're mages of the TSAB. What's your name?"

"I'm Saya-" Sayaka's began to introduce herself, but paused as her confusion only continued to rise. These people couldn't all be magical girls, could they? Just who were they? What was this TSAB they were talking about? Something was wrong here. Something was very very wrong here, Sayaka thought. It wasn't that she couldn't trust these people, they seemed really nice. But just what happened to her? She remembered everything so clearly, so Homura hadn't erased her memories. So wherever she was, she probably wasn't anywhere close to Madoka. Her eyes suddenly widened as she realized something. "Uh wait, where exactly am I? The city, I mean." She asked.

"Oh, you're in Uminari City." Hayate replied. "You're from another world right?"

" _Why did she ask that like it was a completely normal question?!_ " Sayaka yelled to herself internally. But it confirmed her suspicions regardless. If her memories were still intact, that meant Homura wasn't around. If Homura wasn't around, as crazy as it seemed, she really must have been in another world...or maybe that void she traveled through sent her through time, or maybe she hit her head too hard and she was dead and-

"Um...are you all right?" Hayate asked, the only thing she could see on Sayaka's face being worry.

"I...don't know!" Sayaka replied, closing her eyes. "I don't know what's going on, I don't know where I am, I don't know what I'm supposed to do, I don't know who I am…"

"You...don't know who you are?." Hayate asked, confused.

"I...I…" Sayaka began to choke up. The more she thought about it, the more she couldn't contain the stress that had been built up inside her for so long. All that time she was locked away by that _demon_ , she had largely kept a mask over her emotions, both figuratively and literally. She couldn't show weakness to her, if she did then it would basically be admitting defeat.

But now she was free. Free to let all her emotions loose as the tears began to leak from her eyes. Yet, at the same time she was trapped. Trapped in the sense that she had no idea how she would get back to Madoka and free her from Homura's clutches. It all built up to a cluster of troubling emotions that her frail heart could no longer hold inside, and it all came bursting out of her.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Hayate quickly apologized, wondering if she came off too strong on this clearly troubled soul. "I had no idea you were suffering from amnesia! Silly me, I should have known that would be possible from your head injury."

"W-what? No that's-" Sayaka began to retort, before Hayate grabbed her right hand.

"It's all right." Hayate replied in a soothing voice. "Me and my friends can help you get your memory back!" She smiled sweetly in a way that reminded Sayaka of her best friend that she had left behind. "Don't worry, the TSAB will help you, and I happen to be in pretty good standing with them! So until we figure things out and get you back on your feet, you can stay with us!" Sayaka could only stare at her in shock as she heard those words. This girl didn't know who she was. She only just met her right now, and yet here she was offering her hospitality to help with a condition she didn't even have.

A far more heroic deed than anything she could have ever admitted to have done in her entire career as a magical girl. And if Sayaka knew anything about heroic deeds, it was that they never went unpunished. It was at that moment she made a decision. She couldn't tell these people the truth about who she was and what she had to do. This had to be a burden for her to bear on her own. This girl...This _family_...didn't deserve to get involved in her fight. So yes, as far as these people were concerned, she did have amnesia.

"Thanks…" Sayaka uttered with a smile.

* * *

"I see. We'll have her undergo a full examination on the Arthra once the upgrades are complete."

Chrono sat at his desk, talking to Hayate via video chat about the events that happened the previous night.

"Thanks Chrono. I'll look after her in the meantime." Hayate responded.

"Just remember to keep your guard up. This is a delicate situation, and well..." He paused, not finishing his sentence. "Never mind. Now, are you sure that she's a mage?"

"Yeah. I saw her wearing some kind of barrier jacket that got dispelled after she hit the ground, it's the only explanation for how she could have survived a fall like that."

"Once she fully recovers, we'll have her try and demonstrate her magic. If she still can't remember anything after that, we'll hopefully at least have a list of possible locations narrowed down."

"Well...about that…" Hayate said, her face gaining a concerned expression. "She says she doesn't know anything about magic or the TSAB at all. She might not even know how to use it." Chrono furrowed his eyebrows at that. Despite cases like this not being entirely uncommon throughout the universe, something about this situation made an unsettling feeling begin to grow in his stomach. While he wasn't one to jump to conclusions, he couldn't afford to leave out any possibilities either. Regardless, Hayate was an exceptionally strong mage and had the Wolkenritter on her side, so whatever her case was, she could probably handle it, he reassured himself.

"I see. I'll talk this over with the Admiral once she and Fate return." Chrono replied.

"Once they return?" Hayate asked, a spark of realization popping in her head. "Oh right, I forgot they were still at Mid-Childa. Yesterday was the anniversary of…" Hayate trailed off, a look of sadness with a mixture of guilt appearing on her face. Chrono smiled softly in return.

"Don't worry about it. I went there with them earlier and paid my respects. It's just been a really hectic week for us over here." Chrono said, referring to his position as Branch Manager for the Bureau's temporary branch office on Earth. "Anyway, just keep an eye on her and let me know if anything happens." Hayate nodded.

"Right. See you later!" She said as the video chat closed. Chrono sighed and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. He opened them again once he heard the unsatisfied puff of his co-worker Amy, who was holding a tray of sandwiches while looking at him, confused.

"Why didn't you tell her about the report?" She asked, setting the tray down at his desk.

"Because there's too much we don't know and we haven't been assigned anything other than to hold our positions. There's no point in worrying her about it." Chrono replied. He opened up a holographic map of their known universe, along with several articles and papers that talked about the current phenomenon. "The only thing we know is that somehow, every known planet, dimension, and even galaxy in the universe has been slowly moving for the past year. But not moving like they're in orbit. It's like they've... _shifted_."

"So...how is this not a huge crisis? Couldn't something like this potentially cause multiple dimensional quakes if it keeps up?"

"It's possible, but like I said, the problem is that there's too many unknowns. Nobody can tell if this is a natural phenomenon or if someone's causing it. Though I can't imagine how anyone could cause something like this on a universal scale." Chrono added as he took a bite out of one of the sandwiches. "That and nobody seems to know what to do about it, other than making sure things continue to run smoothly and strengthen our safety measures on every administrated world there is." He then stood up. "But the possibility of dimensional quakes isn't even the most concerning part. That would have to be the fact that this phenomenon isn't just affecting our universe."

"What do you mean?" Amy's eyes widened, she hadn't heard about that part of the discovery. The holographic map of their universe then began to shrink. Or rather, Chrono had begun to zoom it out. The millions of stars and planets shrunk to the size of insects the more it did, until the view of their entire known universe was only represented by a tiny white light.

"As vast as the reach of the TSAB is, we're not gods." Chrono continued, a melancholy tone emitting from his voice. There's still a lot about our universe-no, our _reality_ that we don't understand." He managed to zoom out the map even further, and Amy was greeted with a surprising image. The white light was joined by four other white lights. All together they formed to what would look like the 'five' symbol one would find on a die. Five dots, four of them making the shape of a square, with one bigger dot in the center of them. "As advanced as we are, these...ex-universes as they're called still remain out of our reach. While we don't have the means to go to these universes, we can still study them from afar, albeit to a lesser extent here."

"It's sort of like how Earth is aware of the planets outside their solar system despite their current level of technology." Amy noted, to which Chrono nodded.

"Right, and if the recent data we have is correct, then that same phenomenon is most likely happening in these other universes as well, and they all seem to be moving towards that one in the center.." Chrono pointed, before shutting off the holographic map.

"Scary…" Amy said under her breath. "What would happen if they all met in the middle like that?" Chrono responded with silence, which basically told Amy everything she needed to know. She shuddered. Throughout her entire service in the TSAB, she didn't think there'd be a problem that could be too much for them to handle. Despite how big their organization was, the universe still found a way to make them feel small. An air of dread had filled the room on the sunshine-filled day in Uminari city. "You're not thinking that that girl is somehow involved, do you?"

"Of course not. Her situation is almost akin to Nanoha's first meeting with ferret-boy." Chrono joked, attempting to alleviate the tension in the air somewhat. No, what really concerned him about the girl was that she claimed to have amnesia despite having a barrier jacket on. While something like that was certainly possible, from the way Hayate described her injuries it seemed like the brunt of them came from after she had fallen.

Barrier jackets were meant to be extremely durable. If she wasn't involved in some kind of intense fight before she came here, a mere fall wouldn't be enough to give someone amnesia, unless she had amnesia before she came here.

"Anyway." He said as he sat down. "I'll prepare a list of questions to ask her once I inform the Admiral about this." He sat down at his desk and smiled. "Right now, helping her out should be our priority, so don't worry about that other issue now. Besides, from what the data shows, it seems to be a very slow process. At the rate they're currently moving, it could be several generations before any real dangerous effects are felt. Something would be figured out in the meantime."

"Let's hope so." Amy replied, an uncomfortable feeling in the back of her head starting to bother her.

* * *

"...Beautiful."

Cinder Fall commented on the view of the city before her. She gazed down at the metropolitan area from the rooftop with a smile, watching the citizens going about the daily lives in the middle of the day. Beside her stood her two teammates, Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai, who could not help but feel the same sentiment.

"No Grimm, no White Fang, no danger whatsoever." Emerald remarked. She still had trouble taking everything she had recently learned in. It all felt too detached from the dangerous reality she was used to. "It's almost like a dream."

"Yeah well, it's soon gonna become a nightmare." Mercury smirked as he put his hands behind his head, letting the cool breeze run through his grey hair. "We better enjoy this place while we can." He turned towards Cinder. "How much time did she give us?"

"Two weeks at most." Cinder replied, her expression hardening. "Scout out the area. Make sure you find places that will...allow things to play out nicely." She took out her scroll, and quickly looked over the information she was given, and sent it two her teammates.

"Oh, what do you know, it actually works!" Mercury said as he took out his scroll. On the world of Remnant, the main source of energy was Dust, which was known to not function outside of Remnant's atmosphere. That is, until _she_ came along. "I had my doubts, but it looks like this girl knows what she's doing."

"Of course she does. Salem wouldn't have spoken so highly of her otherwise." Cinder noted as she stared at the information on the scroll regarding her target. "She knows we only have one chance at this, and that's why she's going to assist us when we're ready." She turned towards Emerald, who nodded towards her with a look of determination on her face. Cinder's expression hardened.

"Remember, we're not going to be dealing with Huntsmen or Huntresses here." Cinder informed them. "We're going to be going up against people with the kind of power that Atlas...no... _everyone_ in Remnant can only dream about having." Cinder couldn't help but feel a twinge of excitement as she said those words. "But lucky for us, we have one advantage." Her expression darkened as her teammates nodded, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

When the plan Salem had given them changed after that demon showed up, Cinder at first didn't know how to feel. But after learning about the possibilities, her possible enemies, and the _power_ that awaited her should they succeed, the more eager she was to carry it out. If there was one absolute truth in her world, it was that people in positions of power always shared one common trait. One common weakness that they all had.

Arrogance.

* * *

 **150 YEARS, 5 MONTHS, 2 WEEKS, 3 DAYS, 18 HOURS, 5 MINUTES UNTIL THE CONVERGENCE.**

 **NEXT CHAPTER: NEVERMORE**


	3. Chapter 3: Nevermore

"Nanoha-chan! Fate-chan! Good morning!"

"Hayate-chan!"

Hayate Yagami happily waved as her two friends ran towards her, returning the greeting. The three of them hadn't been able to have fun together for over a week, so they were especially looking forward to this day. Summer vacation was nearing for the three of them, and that meant studying for tests and preparing for their summer homework. With Nanoha needing the extra time to keep up with her studies, Fate visiting Mid-Childa with her adoptive mother, and Hayate taking in a lost amnesiac mage, the three of them were as busy as ever.

But Summer vacation had now started, freeing the children from the shackles of their busy lives and letting them have the fun they had been craving for so long. Of course, "fun" in the lives of Nanoha and Fate meant more magical training together, so of course that was the first item on the agenda for today before any of them had even eaten breakfast. That and Nanoha and Fate were eager to meet this person that Hayate had taken in.

"So how has she been doing?" Nanoha asked about her, her kind nature not allowing her to not worry about this person when Hayate had described what happened.

"She's recovering really quickly! Shamal's doing a great job!" Hayate cheered, grateful of her knight's healing abilities.

"Has she made any progress in getting her memory back?" Fate wondered, to which Hayate responded with a shake of her head.

"Unfortunately no. I hope she remembers who she is soon. She seemed really upset when she woke up…" Hayate said sadly before quickly regaining her smile as she remembered how she fit in with the rest of her family. As time went on, they learned that she had a very energetic personality that fit in with the rest of the Wolkenritter rather nicely. She got along greatly with Signum, Shamal, and Zafira, but seemed to often butt heads with Vita. Though in Hayate's mind that usually meant that those two would eventually become the best of friends. The trio soon reached the door of the Yagami household, whereupon they stepped inside, and were immediately greeted with the sound of those two arguing.

"Hey! I was watching that!"

"Eeeh? What girl your age watches the news?!"

"Well excuse me for trying to learn more about what's going on in this world when I'm literally clueless right now!"

"I'm back!" Hayate said as she entered the room, all eyes turning to her.

"Hayate! Saaya won't stop hogging the TV!" Vita tattled.

"That's a lie! I literally just sat down!" Saaya shot back. Hayate smiled as she heard the two of them bicker as Nanoha and Fate both grinned embarrassedly at each other. Hayate's patience was something to marvel at, if this had been common in her house the past week.

"Vita, don't you have some work to do later today?" Hayate said as she smiled at Vita. "You should probably make sure you have everything ready."

"Oh shoot! I totally forgot!" The smallest knight cried as she ran upstairs, all her anger dissipating in that one moment. The trio giggled as Saaya sighed in relief now that the little nuisance was gone, before noticing Hayate had company over and quickly remembered her manners.

"Hey, welcome back Hayate! And uh..." Saaya began to speak as Hayate stepped aside.

"These are the two I told you about. Nanoha-chan and Fate-chan!" Hayate introduced the two aces, who promptly bowed and introduced themselves back.

"Oh right!" Saaya rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "Nice to finally meet you two! My name's Saaya...at least that's what it is until I can remember my real name..." She chuckled in bemusement, the others doing the same. "So you guys are also magical gi-uh, mages right?"

"Right!" Nanoha nodded happily. "Shamal set up a training dimension for us to practice in today."

"We thought that if you saw our magic for yourself, it might help jog your memory before your interview with Chrono-kun today." Fate added.

"Oh yeah! I've been waiting to see that! Hayate told me all about all the crazy things the two of you can do!" She pumped her fist excitedly. Though her excitement was more or less a mask to hide her true feelings at the moment, she'd be lying if she had said she wasn't interested to see what their magic was like. It felt so weird. The date on this world was more or less the same timeframe she was used to, but the magic apparently was like something out of a sci-fi movie, from how Hayate explained it. It only got her more curious to see it in action the more she heard of it. That and she needed something to take her mind off the stress of meeting with this "Chrono" person later today. Whatever he was like, the friendly atmosphere the three girls in front of her gave off reassured her that there was nothing to worry about.

* * *

Sayaka's worry had only continued to grow from that point onwards. That and the overall guilt she had been feeling for the past week. She had been deceiving such a nice family. They had given her the name "Saaya" based off the noise she made when they asked what her name was, and Sayaka's conscience kept making her want to just blurt out the truth every time it was said. It wasn't like she couldn't tell them the truth. They were basically the magic space police! Surely they'd understand that she was on the run to save her best friend from the psychotic-transfer-student demon girl that was holding her captive, right?

Of course she couldn't, Sayaka thought as she pondered how to explain things. Even after learning how the TSAB worked, a story like that would probably get her sent to some kind of looney bin! That and no matter how strong she was, these people wouldn't be a match for Homura. No, she couldn't let them get anywhere _near_ that monster.

"Shoot!"

"Fire!" Nanoha and Fate's voices cried out throughout the dilapidated city they were dueling in, snapping Sayaka out of her trance. She stared in awe as the two young girls kept shooting giant lasers at each other and tearing the scenery apart. If Madoka saw them, Sayaka didn't know if she'd be amazed or horrified. The kind of firepower those two had was _insane_ , and they were three grades below her in school!

But firepower aside, as much as she hated to admit it, they still wouldn't be a match for Homura. Sayaka clenched her fists. It wasn't fair! How could Homura basically just grab Madoka and take her abilities as a goddess like that? In the span of a minute Homura basically gotten the kind of power to make the universe her own personal plaything. The only thing on Homura's mind seemed to be making Madoka happy, damning everything else for all she cared.

But...she wasn't invincible, that much was certain. The sounds of Nanoha and Fate's duel began to fade in the background as Sayaka's mind flashed back to the events that led her to being locked up by Homura.

" _Homura-chan! You don't understand! We're in da-"_

Madoka attempting to resist Homura's control and warn her of something.

" _Go back...it's okay...you don't have to change…"_

Homura interrupting her and using all her strength to erase her memories once again.

" _GET AWAY FROM HER!"_

Sayaka charging towards them to free her best friend.

" _Sayaka-chan! It's no use! Listen to me!"_

Sayaka's Soul Gem glowing brightly for a split second as Madoka shouted to her telepathically.

" _Take this and get out of here!"_

" _I'm not leaving you like this!"_

" _You have to hurry! I can't hold out against her much longer! Please listen! You have to find him! You have to find Ozpin!"_

That was the last thing she heard her say before everything had reset again, only this time with Sayaka as Homura's prisoner. She sighed. What exactly did Madoka give her? Who was Ozpin and how was she supposed to find him? How come Madoka didn't tell her or Nagisa about him before? What was she supposed to do when she found this mysterious person?

"Saaya-san?"

Would he know how to free Madoka from Homura's clutches?

"Saaya-san?"

Would he also have a plan to defeat Homura?

" _Saaya-san?!"_

"GAH!" Sayaka screamed, flinching to her right. Rein, Hayate's little fairy friend, or "Unison Device" as she called her had snuck up to her shoulder without her noticing. She had forgotten that she and her caretaker had been standing there the whole time.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" The little fairy-girl apologized as she started bowing. "I didn't mean to scare you!"

"Rein, it's all right." Hayate reassured her. "Are you remembering anything, Saaya-san?" She asked, hoping Nanoha and Fate's little skirmish helped out.

"Uh...No not really." Sayaka lied, she was actually in the middle of remembering a lot of things. A lot of important things that she should be telling these people, her own conscience kept screaming at her. "Well...seeing stuff like that does feel a bit familiar though." She mentioned, watching Nanoha and Fate finish their duel with an explosion of pink and yellow lights.

"Oh I'm so glad!" Hayate clapped her hands. "That's at least better than nothing, right?"

"Yeah…" Sayaka chuckled softly, her head turning to look at Nanoha and Fate in the distance. Their barrier jackets were torn and they were covered in bruises, and yet the both of them were giggling and laughing like their intense showdown just now had never even happened. They were just two magical girls, able to have a friendly spar without a care in the world. Indeed the scene in front of her was familiar, reminding her of a times when she thought she could have this kind of life.

The kind of life she thought that being a magical girl would give her.

Suddenly, a holographic screen appeared in front of both of them, with a blaring red graphic that said CALLING on it. Hayate pressed her finger on it, and the two of them were then greeted with the image of a tall, cyan-haired woman smiling at them.

"Hayate-san, good morning! Are Nanoha and Fate still in the air?" She spoke.

"They just finished, Lindy-san!" Hayate replied, causing Sayaka to immediately stiffen up. This person was the Admiral Lindy Hayate spoke about? She was standing in a kitchen and dressed so casually. From what Sayaka heard of her position she expected her to be a bit more imposing, and she certainly wasn't expecting to be meeting with the head honcho so soon!

"All right." The woman said as she turned to look at Sayaka. "You must be Saaya-san, correct?"

"Y-Yeah, that's me." Sayaka said nervously, the woman's kind smile not wavering, which relieved her somewhat.

"It's good to see that you seem to be recovering well." Lindy noted as she looked back at Hayate. "Tell Nanoha and Fate to come down and we'll all have breakfast together. After that, we'll see if we can help you remember anything, Saaya-san."

"Sounds good!" Sayaka replied, a drop of sweat rolling down the back of her head. As far back as Sayaka could remember, she was never a good liar. Hayate was nice and didn't really pry that much, but these TSAB people were probably gonna bombard her with questions she wasn't prepared to answer. She doubted that "I can't remember" would hold up as a good response for much long against them.

That and Sayaka was also dreading this examination she was apparently going to recieve. If these people were magic experts, would they find out about her soul not being in her body? Was she going to have to pull off the exact same reaction as when she first discovered that awful truth? She wasn't exactly good at feigning surprise either.

Sayaka gulped as Nanoha and Fate flew back over to them and they started making their way to the latter's apartment. There was nothing she could do other than keep her cool. And pray that something would delay this examination for later.

* * *

" _All right. These spots should be good enough."_

" _Should we wait until tonight before we get started?"_

" _Nah, the girl wants this done as soon as possible. Let's report to Cinder and start the fun."_

* * *

The day for the most part had gone smoothly. Sayaka had found breakfast to be a pleasant experience at the Harlaown household. So far, no tough questions had been asked of her that she couldn't hand-wave away with the amnesia excuse, and she was able to act like her normal, energetic self. She learned more about how magic in this world worked, and found herself particularly fascinated by Alph when introduced to her.

Though Sayaka wished she wasn't referred to as a "familiar", as that term had a completely different meaning in her memories with Madoka. The idea of mages being able to turn animal souls into humans sounded like something out of a fairy tale to her. However that image in her mind was quickly soured once she imagined what Kyubey's human for would look like, and shuddered. Nevertheless, everybody she had met in this world so far, save for that little brat Vita, had been easy to get along with, and for the first time in a while, she was able to enjoy herself.

But as she feared, the time had soon come for the tough questions to be asked. It was around noon when storm clouds started to cover the skies, as if to reflect the bad feeling bubbling in her stomach. The door to the apartment opened and two young boys walked in.

"Ah Chrono-kun! Yuuno-kun!" Nanoha said, welcoming them. Sayaka grimaced as she heard the name of the former. This was it.

"Good to see you two." Chrono greeted Nanoha and Hayate before looking towards Sayaka.

"Sorry we're late." Yuuno spoke up. "Chrono stopped by the library to ask me about the Conv-Ow!" He said before Chrono lightly jabbed the librarian in his side with his elbow, making him quickly realize what he was about to say and changed his wording. "Uh, the CONfirmation about the possible forms of magic Saaya can use."

"Uh, wouldn't it make more sense to talk to her first, THEN go to you about that?" Alph questioned.

"That's...uh…"

"Don't worry about it." Chrono spoke up. "Unfortunately, the Arthra won't be available until tomorrow due to a last-minute delay with the upgrades. So the examination will have to wait for later."

" _Yes!"_ Sayaka mentally cheered.

"However, I thought it'd be best to go forward with interview today regardless."

" _No!"_ Sayaka mentally despaired.

"Now, Miss Saaya?"

"Y-yeah?" Sayaka asked, not liking the boy's tone. While it wasn't exactly hostile, it was the kind of tone that indicated that he was one of those no-nonsense types.

"It's good to see that you've made a full recovery...in the span of a week." He said, Sayaka noting the traces of suspicion in the latter part of that sentence.

" _Curse my stupid fast magical girl healing! You couldn't have fixed me just a little bit slower?!"_ Sayaka thought, never imagining ever having to feel that way.

"First, I'd like to ask you-"

The room suddenly shook as everyone's ears were filled with the sound of an incredibly loud roar. What was initially assumed to be thunder from the storm turned out to be far more intimidating than that, as that roar droned on for several seconds, growing louder and louder, before suddenly going silent. Before anyone in the room had a chance to recuperate from the disturbing noise, an alarm suddenly started blaring throughout the apartment. Then, holographic monitors displaying the word EMERGENCY appeared before everyone in the room.

"Chrono! Everyone! Can you hear me?!" A voice rang out from one of the monitors before an image of a young brown-haired woman was displayed.

"Amy! What's going on?" Chrono asked.

"We're picking up large readings of dimensional interference from above the sea! Take a look!" Amy responded. Suddenly, the images on monitors changed to show a picture of the sea near Uminari's shoreline, and the sight made everyone in the room's blood go cold.

A dark, swirling vortex of some kind had appeared over the ocean, and out from it flew monsters that nobody in the room had ever seen before. They were giant, winged monstrosities, each of them probably about the size of a small plane. Their bodies were pure black, with the only other colors on them being the small bit of white that was on their heads, and their pupiless red eyes.

"What are those things?!" Nanoha cried.

"We don't know, but whatever they are, we can't let them reach the-oh no!" Amy shouted. "Another one just appeared over the mountains!" The images on the monitors changed again, showing footage of the area Amy mentioned. Like the vortex over the sea, more monsters began to fly out of it. But unlike the winged ones flying towards the city, these ones seemed to be land-based, as some of them walked on their hind legs, and others on all fours. Many of them resembled common animals found on Earth, with some looking like bears, boars, and wolves. But all of them had that terrible black, white, and red aesthetic that sent shivers down the spines of every magical girl in the room.

"Deploy barrierers over the surrounding areas quickly!" Chrono turned around and ordered the mages. "Nanoha, Fate. Take care of the ones over the sea! Hayate, we'll contact the Wolkenritter to help you deal with the ones near the mountains! Hold them off while we figure out how to deal with those portals!"

"Roger!" The three of them cried out, ready to defend their city. Sayaka grit her teeth as she looked at them, worried. She wanted to help out, but doing that would mean revealing everything about her. She hated to admit it, but she was going to have to play the role of the innocent bystander for this one. Her eyes widened once she felt Hayate's hands grasping her own.

"Saaya-san. Stay with Lindy-san and Chrono-kun." She told her, her voice calm and relaxing, yet firm in her resolve. "You'll be safest with them. We'll protect our city and be right back, okay?" She said with a smile.

Sayaka could only nod in response. Her own guilt didn't allow her to speak.

* * *

"Raising Heart!"

" _Stand By Ready."_

"Bardiche!"

" _Get Set."_

"Set up!"

Nanoha and Fate both quickly donned their barrier jackets as soon as they were teleported to the Uminari shoreline. Taking to the skies, they prepared to confront the horrifying beasts heading towards the city,with Yuuno and Alph joining them as well for support. When they got there, they were shocked to see that the monsters were already extremely close to the city. Reacting quickly, Yuuno managed to set up a massive barrier before any nearby civilians would be affected.

That's when something strange happened. The incoming monstrous bird creatures suddenly stopped charging towards the city. They just continued to flap their wings, almost as if they were confused by what had just happened. In that moment of silence, the group managed to get a good look at their soon-to-be opponents.

These creatures seemed far more intimidating up close than on a screen. Combat wise, they didn't seem like anything Nanoha couldn't handle. What bothered her was the fact that she had never felt anything like the vibes these things were radiating. It was a pure killing intent. Whatever these things were, one look at them up close told her that they wanted them _dead_.

Fate shuddered at the monstrous aura those things gave off along with Nanoha. It was like she could feel herself being targeted by them. With every caw that came from their large beaks, Fate could almost hear the declaration of war they were declaring. She didn't understand how, she didn't understand why, but she knew in that moment that both she and Nanoha may be in for the fight of their lives.

For each of those birds hadn't simply just stopped, they had turned their attention towards _them_. As soon as the barrier went up it was like they had forgotten everyone in the city had existed, and began charging towards them. Grasping Raising Heart and Bardiche, the two young mages flew away from each other to lessen the amount of opponents they had to deal with.

" _Axel Shooter"_ Raising Heart's robotic voice stated, preparing the spell. Nanoha flew as far as she could from the beasts, before firing a circle of energy bolts at them. All they managed to do was slow them down, but that was exactly what Nanoha needed. Knowing that these birds wouldn't go down without a fight, she quickly shifted Raising Heart into Exceed mode.

"Excelion…Buster!" She shouted, quickly charging a large bolt of energy before firing a massive beam, taking out three of the birds that got what Nanoha felt was a little _too_ close to her. Despite that, there were still more in the air heading towards her, so she couldn't celebrate that little victory. With Raising Heart primarily geared towards ranged combat, she needed to stay as far away from these birds as possible. Fate wasn't having that much of an easier time herself. She knew she needed to keep her distance until she found an opening, which was difficult due to the sky swarming with these monsters.

" _Photon Lancer."_ Bardiche stated, with Fate following Nanoha's example. Her increased speed allowed her to get a little more distance before she fired them. " _Haken Form._ " Fate then followed her attack up by transforming Bardiche into the form of a scythe. With a fierce battle cry, she propelled herself forward with him in front of her, slicing off their wings and sending them hurtling towards the sea. Fate then sternly looked at the rest of the birds in the sky, before moving on to fight the rest of them.

The birds continued to pour out from the portal, one after the other. They were relentless in their assault. Nanoha and Fate kept evading their strikes and retaliated with various forms of shooting and melee attacks, respectively. While they had certainly faced more dangerous threats in their lives as mages, even they could only last so long against a horde like this. But they had faith that their superiors in the TSAB would find a way to close those portals.

Alph and Yuuno continued to support the two mages as best as they could, using their binding spells and force field magic to at least try and slow the birds down, while the former managed to get some hits in herself.

" _What the hell do these things want?!_ " Alph mentally asked, growling as some of the birds managed to fly past her, almost as if they were prioritizing targeting Nanoha and Fate. Giving a full-force punch to another one of them, Alph thought about how these creatures immediately stopped charging towards the city and focused primarily on the mages as soon as the barrier went down. She looked towards Yuuno, and was shocked to see that he seemed to be as much of a target as Nanoha and Fate were. Yet for some reason many of these birds, when they got close, flew straight past her. While they weren't avoiding her, for the most part they were certainly ignoring her. But why?

"Something doesn't make sense here…" She thought to herself as she looked back towards the city, noticing something in the corner of her eye. A small gasp left her mouth, as she saw a figure standing on a nearby rooftop. She couldn't make out much of his details from that far, but she did notice a smirk that appeared to be on his face. Her suspicions only grew once he backed away before jumping off the rooftop he was on, landing on another one and dashing away.

"Alph!" Fate said as she flew closer towards her familiar, slicing through another one of the birds. "You noticed him too?"

"Yeah." Alph growled. "And I've got a feeling he knows something about this."

" _Fate! Alph! Nanoha spotted another non-combatant near us!"_ Yuuno shouted telepathically from his end. " _I'm moving in to question her!"_

"I'll do the same with that guy." Alph said back, both internally and externally towards Fate. "Can you handle yourself out here?" Fate nodded.

"Yeah, we'll be fine. As big as they are, they're really not that strong." Fate replied. While that wasn't technically a lie, Fate didn't tell Alph that she found herself using more magic than she'd like to just to put one of these things down. But she couldn't worry about that right now. If those two non-combatants indeed knew something about this, or were even responsible, they might know how to close those portals. "Help out Yuuno! Don't let them get away!"

"Right!" Alph cried as she flew towards the suspect.

"Alph!" Fate yelled once more, her familiar turning in response. Fate's eyebrows then furrowed, with concern welling up in her eyes. "Be careful."

"Yeah." Alph replied with a confident smirk, before flying towards the man once again.

* * *

This couldn't have been more risky. But it was working out.

As useful as that girl had proved herself, Mercury had to admit he _really_ didn't like her calling the shots along with Cinder. He also hated how right they tended to be on things. Here he was, standing on a rooftop watching the fight from afar. When he first saw this "Nanoha" and this "Fate" in the briefing, he thought he could take out the both of them easily. Kids that were probably half his age he could totally handle right?

Then he read what they could do. Then he saw what they could do, taking down groups of Nevermore like they were nothing. He realized what that girl meant. Back on Remnant, it was difficult enough for a Huntsman or Huntress to take down even one of those things, let alone a horde of them. When he heard the strategy of unleashing them to fly towards the city, something in the back of his head still made him think he'd be watching kids get eaten alive in an instant. But no, she wasn't kidding when she said they were strong.

Strong as they were though, they were still kids. And kids get tired really fast when they play outside, he chuckled to himself. But as much as he wanted to jump into the fray with them himself, orders were orders. Emerald had already gotten the attention of one of their friends, now it was his turn to do the same. He made eye-contact with the wolf-faunus from afar, before jumping away to the other rooftops, further away from the Nevermore brawl.

"Hey!"

He stopped, hearing the brash voice yelling at him from behind. Turning around, he saw the wolf-faunus standing right in front of him, looking at him angrily.

"Are you the one who sent those things? Answer me!" The wolf-faunus clenched her fists, and assumed a fighting stance. Mercury eyed her curiously. There was anger in her eyes, her arms were off balance, and her legs were completely in the wrong position. Well, the right position for an amateur, anyway.

He recognized something familiar about that stance. What was it? Oh right, _he_ had taken that stance before. Every time he would spar with his father. And every time he faced him that way, his father responded by making sure that pain would be the only thing he'd be able to feel for the rest of the week. A smirk adorned Mercury's lips as he took a stance of his own.

He supposed it was only fair this faunus should be given the same courtesy. This was about to get a _lot_ more entertaining.

"Showtime."

* * *

 **150 YEARS, 5 MONTHS, 1 WEEK, 3 DAYS, 5 HOURS, 2 MINUTES UNTIL THE CONVERGENCE.**

 **NEXT CHAPTER: SHE'S HERE.**


	4. Chapter 4: She's Here

"Showtime."

The grey-haired boy said as he walked closer to Alph, suddenly leaping into the air, his body twisting to his left, and launching his right leg towards Alph's face. Seeing him about to strike, Alph quickly fought back and launched her right fist forward, colliding with the sole of his boot as it struck her fist, sending a shockwave throughout the roof. Alph winced as she lept back, the boy running after her. Expecting another kick, Alph quickly guarded her upper body with her arms. Instead, the boy aimed for her legs and began executing a series of low-powered kicks towards them, every single one of them hitting their mark and throwing the familiar off balance. Using that split-second of vulnerability, the by leapt into the air and dealt a fierce blow to Alph's exposed stomach, sending her hurtling towards another rooftop. Alph groaned in pain before growling in frustration as she stood up again.

"Come on. Your friends are out there taking down Nevermores like they're nothing and you can't show me a good time?" The boy smirked.

"So you DO know what those things are." Alph spat, tasting coppery blood on her tongue and lips. She was sweating, and could feel adrenaline thundering through her veins.

" _Everybody_ knows what they are." The boy replied, his irritating sneer not leaving his face. "The ones that don't are the ones that get killed." Alph grunted, and her fur stood on end. She felt an anger burning up inside her at this boy's smugness. Well, she would see just how much he would be smiling once he was in a TSAB prison block.

Retaliating, Alph fired her own variation of Photon Lancer at the boy, attempting to try and throw him off balance this time. Bolts of pure magical energy surrounded her and launched towards him, but to her frustration the boy seemed well prepared for that, doing multiple backflips that allowed him to evade every shot thrown at him. Right as he reached the edge of the rooftop, he landed on his hands, and fired what appeared to be bolts of energy of his own from the soles of his boots.

Alph dodged them effortlessly, but looked back in shock to find that the boy had suddenly surrounded himself with a whirlwind of some kind and was...breakdancing? Indeed the boy was on his hands, spinning himself around and around with his feet in the air, continuing to shoot those energy bolts. The bolts of energy surrounded him and materialized into a large projectiles that spun around him like a cyclone. They then started to launch themselves towards Alph as they spun, who quickly went on the defensive.

"Round shield!" She cried as she summoned a magic circle in front of her and expected the torrent of energy to strike it. But they never came. At least, they didn't strike the shield. Rather they all struck the ground close to her and shrouded the rooftop in a cloud of white dust, forcing Alph to quickly close her eyes. When she opened them, the dust had cleared and her opponent was nowhere to be found in front of her. Almost immediately she heard the sound of movement behind her, but by then it was two late. The boy had already grabbed her left arm and threw her to his side, whereupon he threw two incredibly fast kicks to Alph's legs and one powerful kick to her back. Letting out a cry of pain at the last blow, Alph fell towards the edge of the rooftop, nearly falling off.

"You know, the least you could do is make this interesting." The boy spoke condescendingly. "As much as I love a quick and easy job, this would be loads more fun if it actually seemed like you had a chance. Kind of insulting, really." He added with another smirk.

"Shut up!" Alph yelled as she quickly stood back up again.

"Or maybe you're not going all out because that magic of yours is directly tied to blondie up there." The boy replied, looking up at Fate, who was still launching attack after attack against those...Nevermores as the boy called them. "I wonder what would happen to her if I actually pissed you off enough?" He turned his attention back towards Alph, with a carefree smile on his face like he wasn't talking about anything serious.

"You…" Alph grit her teeth in anger at the thought of this jerk hurting her master. _Through herself._ That did it. She was going to break those legs of his! But the worst part was that he was right. A familiar's magic is empathetically tied to that of their master's. If she did go out against this guy, who knows how much longer Fate would be able to last against those things? If Fate got hurt because of her...she didn't know what she'd do. She clenched her fist in frustration.

"Uh oh, better watch out!" The boy snidely remarked, pointing in her direction. Alph steeled herself. Yeah right. She wasn't going to fall for what was an obvious distraction tactic!

" _Alph! Look out!_ " She heard Fate's voice cry out in her head from afar as she turned around. Her eyes widened as she saw one of the Nevermores charging towards them. She leapt into the air, jumping over it as the boy did the same. The Nevermore then crashed into the taller building behind him, and tumbled towards the ground, before fading into black dust. Fate must have wounded it before making it past her, Alph thought.

That being said though, what just happened? Why did one of those birds, who had previously ignored her until now, suddenly make it past Nanoha and Fate and charge towards her? They couldn't have been targeting this guy, could they? Why would they target the one who was clearly at least involved in bringing them here?

"Okay, guess I enjoyed myself a bit too much back there. Either that or your friends are losing their touch. Let's take this somewhere else." The boy said, dusting off his pants before suddenly jumping off of the rooftop. Surprised, Alph ran over to the edge and saw him using those boots of his as a sort of propulsion mechanism multiple times to break his fall, allowing him to propel himself through the air and land on the ground with ease in the middle of an intersection.

"Get back here!" Alph said as she leapt down after him, noting the fact that this boy apparently couldn't fly in the back of her mind.

"Well faunus, this was fun, but it's time to get serious." He said, taking that fighting stance he took before their fight started, before that irritating smile showed up on his face again. "But remember! Not _too_ serious in your case."

"What did you just call me?!" Alph roared in frustration. If everything he did on the roof was him _not_ being serious, just how many levels above her combat-wise was he? As much as this guy was joking around, he clearly meant business and needed to be taken down as quickly as possible. " _I need to get him with a binding spell."_ Alph thought. " _But this guy isn't letting his guard down for even a second. Damn it! Why am I so useless by myself here?!"_ She mentally cursed her own weakness. But she knew she couldn't let that get the best of her in the middle of this fight. Immediately her brain started racking up possible strategies.

If he couldn't fly, that at least gave her an aerial advantage, she thought. But then the only means of combat she'd have would be pure ranged, and this guy seemed more than prepared to deal with that. Plus she couldn't allow herself to go hog wild with her magic. The link between her and Fate was primarily the reason why she focused on melee combat without magic, and being in more of a support role in other battles. Then again, all this guy would be able to do if she was in the air would be shooting those boot-guns of his or use that little whirlwind technique...wait a minute!

An idea suddenly popped in her head. It was a longshot, but it just might work to give her the opening she needed! Alph charged forward towards the boy before leaping up into the air, firing another Photon Lancer at him. As expected, he dodged them with ease, before retaliating by continuously firing his guns. Alph continued to dodge the flurries of energy bolts in the air, expecting him to do that breakdance trick he did before.

Instead, he stood on one foot and began firing them in a circle, spinning around as he kept shooting. He wasn't even aiming at her, he was just shooting wildly in a circle. Alph easily saw the bolts coming towards her and effortlessly dodged them, but realized as she looked up that this time the whirlwind of blows wasn't surrounding him, it was surrounding _them_. For above the both of them was a maelstrom of the large white energy bolts, circling around them, trapping them in the eye of the storm.

Seeing her distracted, the boy quickly shot himself up towards Alph with his boots, delivering a swift somersault kick on her back, shooting her towards the ground. The flurry of bolts then followed suit, shooting towards her. Knowing what was about to happen, Alph quickly got up and dashed towards the boy as he fell, each of the energy bolts slamming the ground and once again covering the area around the both of them in dust. With the boy caught in the explosion, he had no choice but to flinch, not expecting her to get up that quickly.

"Gotcha!" Alph shouted as she used that split second to launch herself towards him, throwing the most powerful punch she could muster towards that boy's face. It burned her eyes as the dust hadn't cleared yet, but she didn't let him out of her sight. In that one moment, she smirked. Her plan had worked! The boy would not be able to escape this, and once her punch connected and sent him flying, she'd quickly cast Ring Bind to finish this.

"Nice try."

As she expected, her punch connected with his face. But he wasn't sent flying. All he did was recoil a little from the blow. The last thing Alph saw was him quickly smirking and delivering an incredibly strong kick right back at her before _she_ was sent flying instead of him. Alph's eyes widened in shock as the dust around them cleared and she landed on her back. What happened? The amount of force she put into that punch would have sent any normal human tumbling through the air with a slightly injured skull! But this boy had reacted as if she merely slapped him! Who was this guy?!

" _Damn it! Damn it damn it damn it!"_ Alph clenched her fists. She hated to admit it, but she couldn't take this guy down on her own. Her only option now was to play defense. She needed to stall for time until Yuuno got here. She only hoped he was having an easier time than her. " _Yuuno! How are things on your end? This guy's not going down without a fight!"_ She telepathically called him, but received no answer. " _Yuuno?_ "

"Having some trouble, Mercury?" A female voice suddenly came from behind her. Alph turned her head and gasped. A young woman, with dark skin and mint-green hair was walking towards her. In her right hand she was twirling a firearm of some kind. What shocked Alph however, was what was in her left hand. There was another weapon of some kind that Alph couldn't make out in its current form. Whatever it was, its base was attached to a long chain. The end of which was attached to an unconscious Yuuno Scrya, neatly tied up in it. It was at the boy's next words when Alph truly knew that she was in trouble was as the boy - Mercury as he was called, smirked alongside this girl.

"Nah, just warming up."

* * *

Sayaka watched as the situation grew more and more erratic. She clenched her fists in frustration. She should be out there as well, backing up Hayate and the others. It was the least she could do for her for taking her in like that. She was a part of the Law of Cycles that sat by Madoka's side! Yet here she was, rendered to be nothing more than an innocent bystander that could only stay on the sidelines.

They had taken her to what they said was a branch office of the TSAB, since they apparently didn't have access to their spaceship yet. It looked like an ordinary office, and to any normal person the scene inside would have looked like a bunch of businessmen trying to meet a deadline. If the room wasn't filled with holographic monitors that showed footage of young girls duking it out with monster animals, that is.

She felt safe there, but ever since those monsters started attacking she had this terrible feeling that something awful was about to happen. The air had some kind of negativity to it that she couldn't really describe. She tried to keep it in the back of her mind though as the professionals in the room did their job.

"Chrono! We might have identified the suspects in this case!" She heard Yuuno shout towards the Enforcer, who was in the TSAB branch office along with Lindy, Amy, and Sayaka, as well as the other Arthra comandeers, who were hard at work monitoring the situation around those portals. "I'm heading in the direction of one of them now, and Alph has already engaged the other one!"

"Understood. It shouldn't be much longer on our end until we figure out how to close those portals." Chrono replied, speaking to him through a monitor. He then turned towards another monitor that displayed Hayate and the Wolkenritter, who were currently in combat in the mountains. "Hayate, what about you?"

"We're holding steady!" Hayate replied, the footage showing her thrusting her arm forward as a magic circle appeared in front of her. "Claiomh Solais!" She shouted, firing a beam of white light towards the ground, hitting a pack of several werewolf-like monsters. Sayaka became even more impressed by her little caretaker the more she saw her. Out of everything she'd seen so far in this world, she definitely wasn't expecting to see Hayate doing a cool fusion technique with that pixie of hers like in that one anime she saw. Looking to the other monitors, she saw the Wolkenritter dealing with similar creatures in other areas around the mountain. They seemed to be having a much easier time than Nanoha and Fate were, with all of the monsters they were fighting not being able to fly.

"Master Hayate seems to be what these creatures are targeting! None of these monsters are stopping to fight us!" Signum yelled as she slashed Laevatein through one of the werewolf monsters.

"They've been heading towards her this whole time! Damn you!" Vita shouted as she swung Graf Eisen in circles, pummeling through a pack of the boar monsters. Chrono and the others watched the scene carefully as they thought about this.

"We're lucky these creatures seem to only be land-based." Shamal stated. "Otherwise we'd be in a lot of trouble!"

"If you can, try and capture one of the weaker ones." Chrono ordered. "We need to find out what they are and determine what world they hail from!"

"Chrono! Nanoha's with me, all the bird monsters have been taken out! She's saying that no more are coming from that portal!" Yuuno's voice suddenly rang out, causing Chrono to raise an eyebrow in confusion as he looked at him on the other monitor. What was he talking about? Nanoha wasn't anywhere near him, and yet he was looking to his side as if he was. "We'll move over to where Alph is and-!" Static. The connection on both monitors suddenly faltered, showing nothing but white noise on every screen in the room.

"What just happened?" Lindy asked.

"We've lost contact with both barriers!" One of the staff members said, rushing to try and get the footage back online.

"The magical composition just changed! We're...we're not under control of the barriers anymore!"

"How is that possible? Find the key and get the footage back online!" Lindy ordered.

"We're trying but...what...what kind of magic is this?" More monitors appeared throughout the office, showing various letters, numbers, and other symbols that Sayaka didn't really understand. At least until different symbols showed up on one of the monitors. Then another one. And another one, until the room was filled with them. _Those_ symbols she recognized. Her eyes widened in horror.

"Those...runes." She said, as Lindy, Amy, and Chrono suddenly turned towards her. "I've...seen those before." She muttered, completely forgetting that she was supposed to keep up the amnesia act. No, that didn't matter now. Sayaka's body immediately began trembling. They were in danger. _All_ of them were in danger.

"Saaya-san? Are you all right?" Lindy asked, feeling worried for the frightened child.

"It's...It's her! She's here!" Sayaka screamed. The three of them looked at each other worryingly before Lindy spoke again.

"What do you mean? Who's here?"

* * *

"Chrono-kun? Chrono-kun?" Hayate cried out as she tried to restore contact with the enforcer, but received no response. She grit her teeth as she continued to cast spell after spell from above against the horde of monsters coming from the portal. But they just wouldn't stop their onslaught. She was lucky she had an aerial advantage, or else she might have actually been in serious trouble herself. Nevertheless, if enough of those things reached the edge of the barrier, it was possible some of them might be able to break through and attack the innocent people in the city. No, she couldn't let even one of them get past her. If only the assault of these things could slow down just a little! She looked towards that portal in the sky, near the top of the mountain. If she could get up there and use bombardment magic, she might be able to do that. Or at least reduce their numbers by a significant amount.

"Everyone! Fall back towards me!" Hayate telepathically commanded. "Try and hold the line here while me and Rein try and bottleneck that portal!" But none of them responded. The only response Hayate got was one of the werewolf creatures leaping up to try and strike her, to which she dodged. "Signum! Vita! Anyone! Can you hear me?!"

Nothing. Complete and utter silence was her answer. As hard as she tried to keep her cool in this situation, she was starting to get worried. What just happened? Her knights would never go silent on her like this. Were they in danger? She had to find them! She descended closer to the ground, looking for them above the trees. They had been fighting at the base of the mountain, which contained a small forest, which made it difficult to locate anybody without the use of magic.

"Shamal! Zafira? Where are you?" Hayate cried out, wanting to know where they were immediately. How was this possible? Could someone possibly be jamming communication from within their own barrier? That had to be the answer for why she lost contact with the TSAB and her knights, but who could have done that?

" _Hayate!"_ Rein yelled from within her. " _Something...Something really bad is coming!"_

"Huh?" Hayate looked around, wondering what Rein could mean, until she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her back, and yelped. A sharp pain suddenly shot through her back. She looked behind her, and found what looked to be a black arrow of some kind sticking out of it. It looked like it was made of some kind of glass. " _W-Where did that come from?"_ She wondered before horror filled her eyes as she saw an orange glow appear from the arrow's tip before-

A fierce explosion suddenly erupted from the tip of the arrow, filling the air with a terrible scream as Hayate was sent tumbling towards the ground below. The color of her hair changed from beige to brown, meaning she had lost her Unison form. Rein must have spent all her energy to defend her from that blast, Hayate realized. Just barely finding the energy to stand, Hayate quickly got back on her feet. She winced as she found the various monsters encroaching towards her. Now she was in trouble. Without Rein, she was pretty much useless in close combat. Her only means of such in this form would be high-level spells that, as she is now, would be extremely dangerous to cast. Bearing the pain on her back from the explosion, Hayate turned a page from the Tome of the Night Sky, and prepared to consume it to defend herself.

But to her surprise, before she could do so, the monsters in front of her suddenly began to fall and turn into black dust. Not only that, some of them even began to run away from her and deeper into the woods! Yet even they were hit with those same arrows that hit her, and they burned them to ash one by one with their explosions. Soon they were all gone, and their assailant was revealed.

In front of Hayate, a small distance away, stood a young woman. She had ashen-black hair and bright amber eyes. She wore a dark red dress with yellow designs across the sleeves that Hayate didn't understand. Her right eye flashed with a flaring orange aura, and she looked at Hayate with a cruel smile. Looking to her hands, Hayate noticed a faint trail of embers that emanated from her left hand, as well as a bow that was in her right. No doubt about it, this person was the one who shot her.

"So. You're the one who possesses what we need." She stated. Her voice was cold, and dripping with hostility. "How...disgraceful."

"Who are you?!" Hayate demanded. The girl responded by thrusting her right arm forward, firing a small ball of fire towards her. Bracing herself, Hayate quickly cast Panzerschild from the Tome, forming a triangular shield in front of her. The fireballs struck it, creating a cloud of smoke and sparks that filled the air. Once it cleared, Hayate found her opponent no longer standing in front of her, but rather in the air with two black swords in her hands, falling towards her head first. Wasting no time, Hayate threw up another shield.

The woman's swords landed on top of it, applying a huge amount of pressure on Hayate as she struggled to hold against it. The woman smirked, and suddenly jumped back. Her two swords suddenly morphed into a bow and arrow, and she fired three of them towards the ground around Hayate. Hayate gasped as they began to glow again and jumped back, the resulting explosions creating a shockwave that erupted throughout the forest. Despite being able to avoid another direct hit, the shockwave still knocked Hayate backwards a few feet, and sending her to the ground once again.

Hayate grunted in frustration and from the pain that still lingered throughout her body from the explosion from earlier. It was bad enough she was caught off-guard, but one-on-one combat with another mage wasn't one of her strengths even with Rein! She could only hope that her Knights heard her scream from earlier and were on their way to help her out. Whoever this woman was, she wasn't showing any mercy. She needed to keep as much distance between her and this person as possible! Hayate's mind raced as she thought of her available options. With Sleipnir still active, she could still fly relatively well. But even so, if she took to the sky again, she'd be an easy target for one of those exploding arrows. With Rein knocked out, if she was hit with another one of those again, she'd be toast! Even trying to cast _any_ kind of offensive spell without her would have left her a sitting duck just preparing it and endangering her knights in the area if she successfully pulled one of them off.

She was trapped.

"Understood, I have her right where you want her. I'm ending this now." The woman muttered. Hayate gasped as she saw her right eye flash with that orange aura again, and the ground beneath her glowed with that same firey-orange light that had appeared before. No...it wasn't just beneath her this time, she was surrounded by those terrible lights! Before she could react, before she could dodge again, the world around her was consumed in a torrent of flames. The ground beneath her feet had become a bomb that had sent the young mage flying with another scream. She was knocked into a nearby tree, her barrier jacket fading completely, reverting her back to her normal clothing.

" _H-How…"_ Hayate uttered, blood trickling down her head, and her body covered in agonizing burns. She could create those little explosions even without her arrows? Who was this woman? What kind of magic was this?! Her mind began racing, as she desperately tried to remain conscious. There were no magic circles, no incantations, and she didn't even have a device! Just what was she? She crawled on the ground, trying to find the energy to stand and failing. No way to contact her allies. No way to effectively fight back. She was trapped, and defeated. She weakly looked up at the woman was slowly walking towards her, who looked at her with contempt.

"Absolutely pathetic. You possess a power capable of changing this world, and yet here you are, failing miserably against me, someone who doesn't even possess _half_ of the kind of power you do, in battle with it. You're not worthy of such power." The woman spoke condescendingly as she continued taking step after step. Her eyes widened with sadistic glee as a cruel smile crept towards her lips once again, and she put her face right in front of Hayate's. "But I am."

"Who...who are you..." Hayate asked again.

"Who we are is none of your concern, Hayate Yagami." Said another voice. Hayate looked up to see where it came from, and gasped. She found herself unable to breath. Her eyes stared blankly at the sight above her in abject horror.

This person looked human. This person seemed human. But this person didn't _feel_ human. No, nothing about what Hayate currently felt emanating from this person could in any way be described as human. She quickly descended from the sky, her black wings enveloping her opening up to reveal her features. She wore a pitch-black, feathery dress, and despite her height and overall physique being somewhat less imposing than the other girl, Hayate could tell that this girl was someone to be feared. For it was her face that truly told her everything she needed to know. Her expression was blank. Her eyes were cold and dead. Her voice was monotone, and lacked any kind of emotion. But what terrified her the most, was that her guardian knights were floating behind her, each of them clad in black chains, and unconscious.

"What is of your concern, is whether or not you're willing to cooperate."

* * *

 **150 YEARS, 5 MONTHS, 1 WEEK, 3 DAYS, 4 HOURS, 40 MINUTES UNTIL THE CONVERGENCE.**

 **NEXT CHAPTER: TAKEN**


	5. Chapter 5: Taken

Mercury Black was having the time of his life.

For as long as he could remember, all he knew was the dangerous life he had of living with his father, the assassin. Every day was a miserable experience of training, getting beaten, and barely having anything to eat whenever he disappointed him, or was drunk. If the latter was the case he would have what little he had to eat beaten out of him and forced to lick it off the floor. It was a life of pain, pain, and more pain. Long did he wonder what his purpose in life was, other than to just survive. He had nothing to protect, nothing to love, nothing he could really call his own. That is, until he unlocked his Semblance.

But even that was taken from him by his father.

"This is a crutch. This makes you weak." His father told him. "You can have this back when you become strong."

It was then when he found his goal; to become strong and take back the only thing that truly belonged to him. So he embraced the nightmare that was his life. He endured every brutal punishment his father gave him and dedicated himself into learning his techniques and the arts of assassination. And as the months passed, a resentment began to burn in his heart whenever he saw someone not living in the same nightmare he was in. Every single time he saw a person just living without a care in the world, all he could ask himself was one question:

Why didn't they have to live like he did?

It was a question that burned a resentment into his heart. Resentment at the happiness of others. It was that, as well as the desire to get his Semblance back that kept him going. But no matter how much he trained, no matter how much stronger he got, he never got his Semblance back, and now he never would. So when Cinder and Emerald found him that day, in the back of his mind, he swore a vow.

No matter what happened, he thought. He promised himself that whatever mission he was given in his life, he would make sure everyone he fought would feel the same pain he did.

That reflected aptly on the situation he was in now, as he watched this wolf-fanus recoiling in pain at the kicks he was giving her. If she couldn't keep up with him before, she certainly wouldn't be getting close to him now. Thanks to Emerald's Semblance, the only thing she could see was, well, he couldn't really tell what she was seeing. But whatever it was, it was making her miss him by a mile.

She stood in between the both of them in the middle of the empty road, panting and growling. Her arms and legs were both covered in bruises, she could barely stand up straight, and blood was dripping down the left side of her mouth. Yet she still charged forward towards Mercury, who could only mentally scoff at the way she was now.

Whatever chance she had at victory against him before had clearly slipped through her fingers at this point. He saw the desperation in her eyes to defeat him, and desperation only begets a more painful defeat, as his father had taught him. Her combat ability only continued to degrade the longer the fight went on, and Mercury enjoyed every minute of it.

"It's almost sad." Emerald muttered, not getting nearly as much enjoyment out of this as her partner.

"It's pathetic." Mercury sneered, watching as the wolf-fanus ran right next to him. He leapt in the air and swiftly delivered a hard roundhouse kick across her back, smirking at the scream she let out as she fell to the ground once again. "It's like looking at a rabid dog trying to find its last meal." Suddenly, the wolf-faunus's ears shot upwards at that, and her screams of agony became a roar of anger.

"You…" She grit her teeth, baring her fangs at her tormentor. " _You want to see a rabid dog?!_ " Letting out a battle cry, she became shrouded in a bright orange light, and the wolf-faunus whom Mercury had been fighting had been replaced with an actual large orange wolf, about the size of a small Creep Grimm. Again she ran towards Mercury, but this time, he held his arm up towards Emerald, letting her know not to use her Semblance. Blinded by rage, the wolf leapt towards him, opening her large mouth, and chomped down on his left leg.

" _GHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

The asphalt became splattered in red and white, as blood and several teeth flew from the wolf's mouth and onto the ground. Emerald cringed at the sight. She wished she was with Cinder right now doing whatever it is she had to do with that demon. Instead she had to sit and watch as Mercury continued his sadistic streak, laughing hysterically as he looked down at the trembling girl, who had reverted back to her wolf-faunus form and was clutching her mouth in agony.

"Oh man, now THAT'S funny!" Mercury smirked as he rolled up his pants, revealing his legs. The wolf-faunus' eyes widened in shock. They were completely metal. "Guess I should have mentioned that I was using stolen Atlas tech for legs!" He said as he kicked her again, that smirk never leaving his face as he listened to her screams.

"Uh Merc…" Emerald began to say as she noticed something coming from the shoreline in the distance. Mercury didn't seem to hear her as he continued to laugh. "You might want to ease up."

"Relax, these buildings are too big for a Nevermore to fly in here, and even if one somehow did those kids would have beaten it up enough already." Mercury replied, walking towards the wolf-faunus and kicking her again while she was down. The wolf-faunus' sobs turned into hoarse gasps for air, as she looked at Mercury standing over her. "Besides. We're just about done here."

"P...Puease…" She uttered. Her face was a mess of blood on her mouth, sweat on her forehead, and tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, what was that? You've got something there on your mouth." Mercury said as he lifted up his right prosthetic leg, the shadow of his foot filling her field of vision. "Let me get that for you." He laughed as the wolf-faunus shut her eyes, bracing herself as the metal foot threatened to crush her face. But it never came.

"W-What the?!" Rings of pink light had suddenly enveloped around his ankles and wrists, and no matter how hard Mercury struggled, his limbs remained in place. He grunted as he shook from side to side in frustration. This...This was..!

" _Restrict Lock."_

" _Lightning Bind."_

"Merc!" Emerald shouted as she too found herself bound on the spot, only her limbs were held by bright yellow cubes that sparked with electricity. She looked up to find two figures descending towards the ground. As she feared, the brunette and blonde fighting the Grimm, Nanoha and Fate, had come charging towards them, and they did _not_ look happy. The former landed on the ground and pointed Raising Heart towards Mercury. The latter quickly ran towards the wolf-faunus on the ground.

"The portal closed on its own and we took care of the remaining monsters." Nanoha said sternly, a controlled anger laden within her voice. "The two of you are both under arrest."

"Alph! Alph!" Fate cried out, clutching the wolf-faunus' battered and beaten body. She gasped in horror the moment she saw her mouth and the blood and teeth that littered the road. "How…How could you do this to her?!" She yelled out, furious tears leaking from her eyes.

"Hey, she's the one who thought chomping down on solid metal was a good idea, can't blame me for that!" Mercury chuckled. "You might wanna put her on a leash."

"You…" Fate clenched her fists as she glared at Mercury. Gently setting the wolf-faunus down, she picked up Bardiche and pointed it towards the two suspects. "You won't get away with this!"

"Yeah kid, the thing about that is, we kind of already did." Mercury replied, his struggling having stopped completely and his condescending smug tone returned to his composure.

"She said the portal closed on its own." Emerald said, her eyes widening and brightening up. "Then that means…"

"Yep. Looks like our work here is done. We win." Mercury added. Nanoha and Fate both looked at each other in concern and confusion at that.

"What do you mean?" Nanoha demanded, not letting go of Raising Heart. "Answer me! What were the two of you planning? Why did you hurt Alph-san?! What have you done with Yuuno-kun?!" Her voice raised more and more with every question she yelled at him. Mercury only laughed in response.

"Kid. Let me just tell you one thing. You lost the moment you put down the barriers over this place."

* * *

"But...why?"

Hayate Yagami shuddered at what she was just told. All of this...All of this was a trap meant for her? These people never meant to attack the city in the first place! Everything that happened was all done so she and the Wolkenritter would be dragged out here and cornered like this. But why?

"Why are you doing this?! Let them go right now! Please!" Hayate begged, her body still wincing from the pain she was in from the burns.

"Hayate Yagami, I'd like to ask you a question. Do you treasure the life you currently live? Do you truly treasure those people?" The winged girl spoke while pointing towards her chained knights.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I care about them!" Hayate shot back. "They're the only family I have!"

"If that's the case...then tell me this. How far would you be willing to go to protect them?" The girl who descended from the sky continued to look down upon her as she said those words, her emotionless expression not changing. "If you willingly surrender yourself along with the Book of Darkness, I will personally guarantee their happiness along with yours." Her hand reached out towards Hayate's. "You would never have to worry about fighting ever again."

Hayate stared at the black gloved hand in confusion and fear before looking back at the winged girl's hollow, empty eyes. Her eyebrows furrowed and her teeth grit in anger at this girl's demand. She hated whenever anyone called the Tome of the Night Sky by its former name. That name always represented nothing but painful memories for her and her Guardian Knights. The fact that this girl would attempt to hold her knights hostage like this and so brazenly use that name made the idea of surrendering it to her sick to her stomach.

In the past two years since Reinforce was destroyed and Hayate reprogrammed the Book, her Guardian Knights became directly tied to her own life force. Unless Hayate herself was killed, they wouldn't die. Not only that, but she made sure to master the full control of it in the time she had it, enough so to make sure that it would not fall into the wrong hands like this. So surrendering it would be pointless. Whoever this person was, they either didn't know that or were bluffing.

"I...I would do anything to protect my precious knights." Hayate answered her question, assuming the latter was the case. "But...you can't have my treasure! I don't know who you think you are, but you can't threaten me with them like this!" She shouted as she held the crest that contained the Tome tightly. "If you try and kill me, I'll reprogram the book before you do and make it useless! So whatever you think you can accomplish here-"

Hayate gasped as the rough sensation of the edges of the crest being pushed against her palm instantly faded. It was gone. Once again she looked toward the winged girl and was horrified to see that it was now in her hands. She hadn't moved from that spot, no, she hadn't even changed the position of her body! Yet somehow she had held in her dark hands the very thing she was told to surrender.

"It seems you have yet to understand the position you're in, Hayate Yagami." The girl spoke. "How...unfortunate." She held her left hand under her right one, and uttered one word. One word that sent a terrible shiver down Hayate's spine, right down to her soul.

" _Umschreiben_ ". _Rewrite_.

A terrible aura of darkness began to emanate from the girl's palms. No...it wasn't just darkness. Blotches of yellow, green, blue, red and all sorts of colors emanated from it, but they all clashed together with each other in discordant harmony. That aura began to expand, and it instantly enveloped the area around them. The Tome of the Night Sky flashed up from the crest, and its pages began flipping rapidly from one end to the other. It was hard to see, but Hayate could swear she was seeing text starting to appear on the pages that were once blank. Then-

" _!"_

Hayate screamed. A horrible, horrible pain suddenly coursed through her body. Writhing on the ground, her body horribly burned, all she could do was scream. Her eyes widened in horror as they opened to see her Linker Core outside her body, particles of energy flowing from it back into the Book. Then suddenly, that pain stopped, and the screams coming from Hayate's mouth were soon replaced with screams from the sky. Her eyes darted towards it, only to be greeted with a horrible sight.

The bodies of each of her Knights had all begun to slowly dissolve into tiny lights of various colors. Vita, Shamal, Signum, and Zafira could only yell in agony as they felt themselves vanishing right before her. It was then when she truly realized what was happening. The pain Hayate had felt before was suddenly replaced with a different kind of pain. This was familiar, this was similar to the pain that she felt back then, on that horrible night. The night she felt that torment, the night she had lost all hope. The night of her despair.

It was happening all over again.

" _Stop it! STOP IT!"_ Hayate screamed. Why was this happening? How was this girl doing this? Desperate sobs escaped Hayate's mouth as she tried to stand up despite the burns all over her body. She had to do something! She had to save them! But whenever she tried to stand, her body was sent shocks of agony that sent her towards the ground again. She couldn't help them. She couldn't fight. She couldn't even stand. All she could do was beg. The winged girl only continued to do what she did, and look down upon her with that completely emotionless gaze. The girl who had attacked her even looked like she was _enjoying_ this.

"PLEASE!" Hayate screamed, tears streaming down her eyes. She didn't understand why, or how, but whatever this girl was doing, she was taking the only family she had away from her. "I'll do whatever you want! Just stop!"

"You really don't understand what's going on, do you?" Her attacker, the other girl spoke, a cruel sneer laden upon her face. "Even if you had willingly surrendered it, she would still have had to do this."

"Our mission requires the Book of Darkness to have as much power as it possibly can." The winged girl added. "To do this, I must return it to how it was before it was turned back into the Tome of the Night Sky, and restore its lost data."

"No…" Hayate shuddered. It was all falling apart. Reinforce's sacrifice. All the hard work her friends did to stop the Book from going out of control. The efforts that her Knights put in to save her. In this one instant, everything she loved was being taken from her right before her eyes, and all she could do was lie on the ground, powerless. "You can't do this! Please..."

Despair began to well up inside her. Her injuries began to take their toll on Hayate's strength. She realized there was nothing she could do, but watch. Her eyes gazed upwards to the sky once again. Shamal, Signum, and Zafira had all vanished. Vita remained, and she could see her eyes open and look down towards her, fearfully.

" _Hayate…_ " Hayate heard the voice of the smallest Knight in her mind, before she too had faded into nothing but those tiny lights, and was absorbed into the book. The only thing that remained were the clothes on their backs, which fell into the forest. And that was it.

They were gone. All of them.

A wail of grief erupted throughout the area as the dark aura faded and the surroundings returned to normal. The winged girl held the Book in her hands, the flipping pages slowing down, before it closed completely as Hayate wept on the ground. No longer could she feel their presence. No longer did she feel the control she had over their life force.

"It's done." The winged girl spoke as she walked towards the crying injured girl. Gently she caressed her face and held the bottom of her chin, forcing Hayate to look directly at her. Hayate could not help but be shocked to see that her emotionless expression had faded slightly, her eyes showing a small hint of sympathy, though at this point she couldn't really care what this person was feeling. Only one thing was on her mind.

" _Why?!"_ Hayate shouted, trying her hardest to remain conscious. " _Who are you?!"_ The girl stood up and backed away. She gazed to the stormy clouds in the sky, where no rain fell due to the barrier. The sympathy in her eyes hardened and became replaced with resolve, as this girl gave her her answer.

"I am many things. I'm an existence called 'Evil'. I'm the embodiment of the human ability to make a choice. I'm the one who suffered through tragedy beyond human comprehension. I'm a demon who sold my soul for a friend. I have felt enough suffering to fill a thousand lifetimes _._ "

The girl's voice kept the same, monotone sound as she spoke, yet Hayate could feel the intensity behind her words.

"You ask why I'm doing this? I do this because just like you, I have someone I need to protect. If I hesitate, if I make even the slightest mistake, I risk losing that person forever." Her dark purple eyes continued to stare directly into Hayate's. She felt the emptiness that emanated from them boring directly into her soul. "So I must go and do whatever it takes. If I must break the rules, if I must bear this burden, I will do so. The ones that aren't willing to make the hardest choices...will never protect those they love."

She stepped towards her, and reached out her hand.

"Now...it's time for you to make a choice. My offer still stands, Hayate Yagami. Your Knights aren't dead."

"They're...They're not? Then what did you…" Hayate stammered weakly, her eyes and breathing growing heavier by the minute.

"Like I said, I simply returned the Book to the state it was in before it lost its data, and took complete control of it." The girl replied, her emotionless expression still not changing. Anything that was originally a part of the Book, has now been returned to the Book. That includes the Guardian Knight system. But you can still join them."

"I don't understand...what do you mean?" Hayate asked. At this point she didn't care what price she'd have to pay. She just wanted to see her Knights again.

"You don't need to understand how, or why." The girl stated flatly. "All you need to do is surrender yourself to both the Book and me, and you will be reunited with your family. You will spend eternity living with them in idyllic happiness. Things like death, pain, sorrow, and tragedy will be but a fleeting afterthought." This girl...no this _demon_...then smiled. "Now, Hayate Yagami. What is your answer?"

"I...I…" Hayate stuttered, looking at the demon who had snatched away her family. As much pain as she caused her, as much as she hated what she had done, she couldn't deny that she felt sincerity in her words. If she did what she said, she'd be with them, right? What did she have to lose at this point by doing so? Her standing with the TSAB? Her friendship with Nanoha and Fate? Did they really compare with the unbreakable bonds she had formed with her family?

No, she realized. They didn't.

Using every last bit of strength within her, she reached out her hand towards the demon's, preparing to accept her offer. She closed her eyes, and accepted whatever consequence would come of this action, the thought living happily together with her Knights being the only thing on her mind.

" _Nanoha-chan...Fate-chan...I'm sorry…"_

* * *

Sayaka Miki leapt from rooftop to rooftop towards the mountains, running and jumping as fast as her magic-enhanced legs would allow her. Looking back, she noticed she wasn't being tailed, but she knew after that little outburst she had it wouldn't be long before that would change. She didn't care that she had just ran out on Chrono and the others like that. She didn't care that her secret would be revealed. She didn't care that it was currently storming all around her and one wrong move could possibly get her struck by lightning.

All she cared about was making sure her friends were safe from that _demon_.

"Don't be too late. _Please_ don't let it be too late!" She said to herself. Sayaka didn't understand why Homura was here, but she knew it couldn't be good. Eventually, she reached the location of the barrier. Sure enough, the outside of it was shrouded in those familiar runes. Being able to understand them, Sayaka flashed her Soul Gem towards them and made her way inside the barrier, running towards where she felt Homura's presence. Eventually, she reached a small clearing in the forest, and gasped in horror.

" _HAYATE!"_ She screamed as she leapt towards the horribly injured girl, her Soul Gem flashing a brilliant blue light, momentarily blinding the demon and her other assailant. She grabbed Hayate as fast as she could, lifted her up, and ran. Acting quickly, she activated her magic and began to heal her wounds, not stopping for a second.

"Saaya...san?" Hayate muttered weakly.

"It's okay! You're okay!" Sayaka assured her. "I'll get you and the others out of here!" She added.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that."

Sayaka stopped dead in her tracks. The moment they reached another clearing in the forest, they only found Homura and the girl with her waiting for them. Her teeth grit in frustration, both at Homura's persistence and her inability to think far enough ahead. Though, how could she when dealing with a monster such as this?

"You…" She growled, her eyes blazing with fury. "What are you doing here?!"

"I see no reason why I should give any answers to someone standing against me." Homura responded while flipping her hair in that usual cocky manner of hers. "I don't know how you ended up here, but to humor you I'll at least tell you that I'm finishing what I started."

"So you were serious then?! You're actually gonna destroy everything?!" Sayaka gently placed Hayate on the ground and summoned one of her cutlasses, brandishing it in front of the demon. A rare dry chuckle then escaped Homura's lips.

"Now, why would I do that when there are still wraiths that need to be destroyed?" The demon replied, before her usual emotionless demeanor returned. "You're free to interpret that however you like. Right now, I think you have more important things to worry about, Sayaka Miki." Her finger pointed to the girl on the ground, who was watching the situation with a mixture of shock, confusion, fear, and sadness in her eyes. "Unless you're enough of a fool to think you can take me on again by yourself, you'll surrender Hayate Yagami to me."

"Fat chance of that!" Sayaka shot back. Pointing her sword directly at Homura, she maintained a defiant offensive position. "You know, I admit I'm not exactly the smartest girl in class, but even I can tell that you're not nearly as strong here as you are back home!"

"Is that so? In that case I'll-"

"No." The other girl standing next to Homura, who had been silent up until now, spoke. She gazed towards Homura with a confident sneer. "You wouldn't want to use too much power and leave before we could finish things, would you?" A large glass sword suddenly materialized in her own hands. "I'll deal with her. "

"Very well, Cinder. Just remember what I told you." Homura replied in agreement and stepped back, knowing this wouldn't take long. Sayaka only increased the grip on her cutlass, not taking her eyes off her opponent.

"Saaya-san…" Hayate muttered, not sure what was going on anymore.

"Hayate, just stay behind me." Sayaka commanded, wincing as she remembered the horribly burnt state her body was in when she found her. She was still wounded due to Sayaka not having enough time to heal her before Homura stopped her. "I won't let them lay another finger on you!"

"Oh, isn't that rich?" Cinder chuckled, a sinister smile creeping on her face. "Look who's playing the big hero, when the reality is you're too late to save anyone!"

"What are you talking about?!" Sayaka shouted.

"Listen, little girl. We've pretty much already accomplished our goal. Hayate over there is nothing more than the finishing touch." Cinder's dark smile grew wider. "Honestly, she'd have been much happier had you not showed up right then."

Sayaka only glared back at this girl, still not understanding what she meant. But then she caught something in the corner of her eye. Three sets of jackets were lying on the ground a few feet away from Cinder. The sound of quiet sobbing emanating from behind her, and Sayaka turned to see Hayate covering her face with her hands. The girl's cruel words only hammered in what just happened to her a few minutes ago. A breathless gasp then escaped Sayaka's lips as realization struck her mind. She felt her grip on her cutlass loosening as her body shook, and her mind entered a state of shock.

"How...how could you..." Sayaka spoke, her tone lowering to that of a soft whisper. She fell to her knees, and blood began to trickle down her lower lip as she bit into it. "She didn't know who I was, and she still helped me…" Her mind flashed towards the week she had spent with them recovering from her injuries. Hayate Yagami, a girl who knew nothing about her had practically treated her like she was a part of her family. Now this demon took that away from her. She didn't know how it was done. She didn't know why it was done. In that moment, in that one instant, only three words flashed in her mind.

She killed them. _She killed them._

"Time to wrap this up." Cinder said flatly, merging her two swords into a bow, and readying an arrow. She stood above the kneeling Sayaka, and raised the sword to the sky. "How pathetic. The moment you realize the truth, is the moment all that bravado of yours vanishes. She was right about you. Such _arrogance._ "

A bright spark suddenly shot through Sayaka's body the moment those words left Cinder's mouth. The world had suddenly seemed to slow down around her as memories suddenly began to flash through her mind.

It was true, Sayaka thought. She was arrogant. Arrogant to believe that her wish wouldn't be something she'd regret. Arrogant to think she could take on Homura by herself. Arrogant to think she was a hero of justice, when really she had only been fighting for the love of one boy. It was like that every time, in every universe where she saw herself in that fated month, that's who she was. Every time she realized that, that's when despair had overcome her, and she met the fate that all magical girls met.

That's right...she had felt this before. In all those memories, this feeling...the moment where all hope was lost. But the last time she felt this...was that moment where she saw her precious best friend Madoka. It was that moment when she had told her not to be ashamed of her wish, and who she was. It was then when had she had become part of something greater. Something she could be proud of. She remembered the words Madoka had said to her.

" _It's all right. There's no reason to despair, Sayaka-chan."_

In the deepest confines of her soul, a fire began to burn.

Cinder slashed the sword down upon Sayaka's head, but it never reached it. To the shock of everyone in the area, Sayaka had suddenly grabbed the sword with both her hands, just inches away from her face.

"How...dare you." Sayaka muttered, blood trickling down the sides of her palms. Her face suddenly shot up and looked at Cinder with an expression of pure indignation. " _How dare you?!"_ She shouted as she pulled the sword out of Cinder's hands, and before anyone could react, she had stabbed herself in the abdomen with it.

Hayate could not help but close her eyes at the sheer amount of blood that suddenly splashed all over her from Sayaka's back. But when she opened them again, she realized that wasn't blood, but something else entirely. It was a dark red liquid that had begun to morph around her. Then something suddenly came from the sky, it looked like...a fishing hook? It lowered down into the pool of red, before lifting up something that filled her with awe.

"That's...not possible." Homura stammered. "You shouldn't have that!"

Despite Hayate's active imagination, she found it difficult to describe the entity that had suddenly appeared in front of her above Sayaka. It had the tail of a mermaid, and the armor of a knight. A brilliant blue cape was adorned upon its back, and its hands brandished a much larger cutlass than the one Sayaka wielded. It took Hayate's breath away completely.

" _Eat this!"_ Sayaka shouted as the creature swung the massive cutlass down upon Cinder and Homura. Reacting quickly, Homura quickly flew up towards it and effortlessly caught the blade with her own hands. Grunting, Sayaka noticed that Cinder was distracted. There was a look of shock in her eyes as she seemed to be transfixed by the abomination. Seeing her chance, Sayaka grabbed the cutlass that she had dropped earlier and leapt towards Cinder, spinning herself in the air and slashing at her with a mighty swing. When Cinder looked back towards Sayaka, it was too late. Sharp metal filled her field of vision before-

An awful scream of agony erupted throughout the woods. Cinder clutched her right eye with her right hand, but yet she still managed to stand. Before Sayaka could make another move, she heard the sound of a loud clap, and saw the witch she summoned vanishing before her eyes.

" _You!_ " Cinder screamed as two glass swords materialized in her hands again, glaring at Sayaka with her remaining eye as blood continued to drip from the closed socket. " _You'll pay for that!"_

"Cinder!" Homura's voice, in a rare commanding tone from her, suddenly echoed throughout the area. "We need to retrieve Emerald and Mercury and leave! Right now!"

"What?! No! Not yet! Not until I-"

"We have what we need. Unless you want to lose more than just your eye, we won't waste anymore time here. We're leaving. _Now._ " Cinder grit her teeth and gave a glare of hatred towards Sayaka before she complied with Homura's order, and leapt towards her.

"You're not getting away!" Sayaka shouted as she ran after the two of them, leaping in the air and readying another slash. She brought it down on open air, as before she hit the ground, Homura and Cinder had both vanished. The cold drops of rain then began to pour down on her, as the barrier above the mountain area had dispelled. "No…"

"Saaya...san?" Hayate stated her alias once again, her voice dripping with concern. Sayaka turned around and looked towards her, before dropping to her knees once again. Tears began to fill her eyes, and the emotions that she had held inside her during the entire confrontation suddenly began to spill out all at once. As the rain poured from the sky, so did the tears that fell from her eyes. As sobs began to escape her lips, she shouted the only two words she felt she could say to her caretaker.

"I'm...sorry…"

* * *

 **150 YEARS, 5 MONTHS, 1 WEEK, 3 DAYS, 4 HOURS, 10 MINUTES UNTIL THE CONVERGENCE.**

 **NEXT CHAPTER: AFTERMATH**

 **A/N: So concludes the five chapters I had written up for this story so far. Chapter 6 is already in development and should be ready in two weeks, but no more beyond that are ready.**

 **After that, I think I'll put this story on a small break while I get more chapters ready for regular updates again.**


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